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Battle between Hamilton and Verstappen was excellent, other than that, there was not much to the race in my opinion.

Was hoping Bottas would keep it together after his first lockup, but glad Hamilton and him stayed out of trouble the next corner. Unfortunately met Leclerc's tire.

How about Sainz yea?!

Toro Rosso crew was not entertained with Albon and Kvyat's battle.

Oh and I forgot Ferrari was there racing too.

Yep, great mixed strategy and tire battle. Merc nailed it and knew what Max's tires would be like vs. their own, the gap, the number of laps remaining and just did what Merc does; dominate like a well-oiled machine from driver to pitwall. After a ****ty Hockenheim, that was a solid win.

Sainz has come alive this year. I initially felt bad for him because he left the RBR program due to Verstappen being the chosen one, got kicked out of Renault for RIC and then ended up at backmarkers McLaren only for the team to totally turn it around this year and regularly have 2 cars in the points. They have "best of the rest" on lockdown right now.

Renault is in the bottom 5 of the constructor's. Wow

That STR battle was 10/10. Both right on the limit, racing each other as hard as possible without being unfair or touching. That was brilliant. Take note, Haas.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indocti Discant

definitely - RBR should have realized that this was a possible threat - especially since HAM was faster than VER at that stage of the race.

Caught napping not just once, but twice - first right after the pitstops where HAM closed the gap from 6s to the failed pass, and then when he pulled into the pits.

Forget Ferr - where the hell was the rest of the pack, it was literally a race between HAM and VER and then everyone else.

BOT had some piss poor luck (and HAM and LEC excellent to suffer no tyre damage) with the two taps he got in the space of 2 corners to end up where he did.

GAS - is just terrible. That is just not acceptable - losing 3 positions off the line can be explained to the medium vs. soft tyre choice, but staying in that position most of the race is pitiful.

BOT definitely had bad luck. To sustain that much damage and lose that much pace from such tiny taps is just bad luck, really. But like Brundle says, "In F1, you make your own luck" and he's been off it ever since the first few races.

Despite racing for one of the top teams in F1, I do feel bad for Gasly. He wasn't ready to be promoted but RIC jumped ship. Same happened to Kvyat when Vettel left and we saw how he got chewed up and spit out. This is why I don't think anyone should be rushing to get Albon in the car and destroying his career by promoting him before he is ready.

Will Ferrari win a race this year? Ehh, maybe 1, but I don't think they'll get 2. Craziness.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChriS2000

Another great race. Kudos to Verstappen for handling the loss so well. Hopefully we see a lot more close races between these two.

Probably my biggest takeaway was how he handled the tough loss. He's only getting stronger.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShadowIMg

Kind of surprised there was no action on the incident with Bottas and LeClerc. LeClerc really seemed like he just randomly drove across almost the whole (fairly wide portion) of track and tagged him and then went back to where he was for no particular reason.

He needs to learn how to pass though. When he has free track, he's got great pace, but as soon as he's behind someone, he goes all Gasly.

Yeah, that replay showed a way more aggressive move and more contact that so many other "race incidents" that are actually investigated by the stewards. I'm not saying it should have been any sort of a penalty, but to not look at such a big collision seemed very odd.

It's a hard track to pass on but BOT definitely gets stuck behind other cars for too long.

Probably my biggest takeaway was how he handled the tough loss. He's only getting stronger.

Yep, Max is a complete beast now that he has matured and cut out the silly overdriving mistakes. I'm not a fan rooting for him, but he's incredible.

Exactly. The way he handled a P2 was really mature.
But also how clean he has been for over a year. Other than a few minor elbow brushes (which are totally fine and actually should be encouraged), he's been pretty much flawless... while at the same time having crazy speed.

Still, the jury's still out until he's in a proper title fight, but if his recent performances are a hint... he's more than able to deliver.

Toro Rosso Formula 1 driver Alexander Albon will join the main Red Bull team from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards, replacing Pierre Gasly.
Gasly was drafted into the primary Red Bull line-up as a replacement for Daniel Ricciardo for 2019, having impressed in his first full season in F1 with Toro Rosso the year before.

However, the Frenchman has struggled badly alongside Max Verstappen over the first half of the season, scoring 63 points and no podiums to the Dutchman's 181 points and two wins.

Red Bull, which had claimed Gasly's seat was secure until the end of the season, will now promote Albon alongside Verstappen, with the Anglo-Thai racer having surpassed expectations in his own debut campaign with Toro Rosso in 2019.

"Red Bull are in the unique position of having four talented Formula One drivers under contract who can be rotated between the [senior Red Bull] Team and Toro Rosso," the energy drink giant's statement read.

"The Team will use the next nine races to evaluate Alexís performance in order to make an informed decision as to who will drive alongside Max in 2020."

Red Bull also confirmed that Gasly will return to Toro Rosso, where he will partner Daniil Kvyat.

Kvyat, who was himself relegated from Red Bull to Toro Rosso mid-season three years ago to make way for Verstappen, scored Toro Rosso's first podium since 2008 in the mixed-weather German Grand Prix last month. He has amassed 27 points to rookie Albon's 16.

Toro Rosso Formula 1 driver Alexander Albon will join the main Red Bull team from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards, replacing Pierre Gasly.
Gasly was drafted into the primary Red Bull line-up as a replacement for Daniel Ricciardo for 2019, having impressed in his first full season in F1 with Toro Rosso the year before.

However, the Frenchman has struggled badly alongside Max Verstappen over the first half of the season, scoring 63 points and no podiums to the Dutchman's 181 points and two wins.

Red Bull, which had claimed Gasly's seat was secure until the end of the season, will now promote Albon alongside Verstappen, with the Anglo-Thai racer having surpassed expectations in his own debut campaign with Toro Rosso in 2019.

"Red Bull are in the unique position of having four talented Formula One drivers under contract who can be rotated between the [senior Red Bull] Team and Toro Rosso," the energy drink giant's statement read.

"The Team will use the next nine races to evaluate Alexís performance in order to make an informed decision as to who will drive alongside Max in 2020."

Red Bull also confirmed that Gasly will return to Toro Rosso, where he will partner Daniil Kvyat.

Kvyat, who was himself relegated from Red Bull to Toro Rosso mid-season three years ago to make way for Verstappen, scored Toro Rosso's first podium since 2008 in the mixed-weather German Grand Prix last month. He has amassed 27 points to rookie Albon's 16.

Why not Torpedo Man instead ?
Didn't even demote Gasly to STR either.

Gasly us demoted to STR they said it in your quote above.

They must not like Kvyat enough to promote him again because he's performed a little better than Alvin this year in my book.

Not a big surprise but I hope they don't ruin both Gasly and Albon's careers for the sake of plugging the hole RIC left at RBR. Their refusal to hire any outside drivers leaves them scouring the Earth for anyone who drove in their academy in the last decade and bringing them back when the talent pool dries up.

The switch to Albon isn’t a bad thing honestly. Gives him the insight of what it’s really like at the top level until the end of the year without much commitment. Kvyat can take more control and get more experience in Toro Tosso. It’s probably not a permanent seat position. I can imagine Kvyat swapping seats with Albon again start of next year.

The switch to Albon isnít a bad thing honestly. Gives him the insight of what itís really like at the top level until the end of the year without much commitment. Kvyat can take more control and get more experience in Toro Tosso. Itís probably not a permanent seat position. I can imagine Kvyat swapping seats with Albon again start of next year.

I guess they figured he can't hurt and can only help Max's run at gathering points and then next season the pair is ready to be competitive with Mercedes not just Ferrari.

I guess they figured he can't hurt and can only help Max's run at gathering points and then next season the pair is ready to be competitive with Mercedes not just Ferrari.

Whoa, slow your roll there. It's nice Max can take it to Mercedes at a couple token tracks or when conditions are way outside the operating window (wet or scorching hot) but over a season, not a chance in hell. Worry about beating an underperforming Ferrari first.

I agree that it can't really hurt (the team) since they're basically getting nothing out of Gasly. But if Albon performs similarly, then he'll be out for 2020. It's one of the top seats and opportunities like this seldom come along, so he's got to make the most of it.

Goddamn, RBR is so stubborn. No one else is constantly doing these desperate mid-season merry-go-round driver swaps because they refuse to hire anyone but someone who wore their logo at some point in the past.

As soon as I saw Horner and Marko saying Gasly was safe... I knew he was a goner. Didn't expect it right at the summer break but... oh boy. I guess they (RB) don't have much to lose with someone else on the seat; but Albon definitely has a lot to lose. Toughest job on the grid right now.

Whoa, slow your roll there. It's nice Max can take it to Mercedes at a couple token tracks or when conditions are way outside the operating window (wet or scorching hot) but over a season, not a chance in hell. Worry about beating an underperforming Ferrari first.

I agree that it can't really hurt (the team) since they're basically getting nothing out of Gasly. But if Albon performs similarly, then he'll be out for 2020. It's one of the top seats and opportunities like this seldom come along, so he's got to make the most of it.

Goddamn, RBR is so stubborn. No one else is constantly doing these desperate mid-season merry-go-round driver swaps because they refuse to hire anyone but someone who wore their logo at some point in the past.

They are stubborn and yes you watch they'll expect him to come in and ride right up Leclerc's butt, and give Max more opportunities to chase Mercedes with only Vettel biting at his ankles no?

Quote:

Originally Posted by F1EA

As soon as I saw Horner and Marko saying Gasly was safe... I knew he was a goner. Didn't expect it right at the summer break but... oh boy. I guess they (RB) don't have much to lose with someone else on the seat; but Albon definitely has a lot to lose. Toughest job on the grid right now.

Exactly, and no real news from Mercedes on Bot other than some rumors on the internets.

They are stubborn and yes you watch they'll expect him to come in and ride right up Leclerc's butt, and give Max more opportunities to chase Mercedes with only Vettel biting at his ankles no?

They would definitely have more opportunities with 2 drivers somewhat near each other on track. Gasly being outside of the pit window means they're basically running 2 separate races that only intersect each other when Gasly had to let Max through to lap him.

And now that I think about it from a bit of a distance, I guess putting Albon in there makes sense to make an informed decision for 2020. They already have all of the data on Kvyat and now Gasly. Why not put Albon in there and see where the 3 stack up. Then they can make a more informed decision on their 2020 lineups. Theoretically/hopefully, he won't be worse than Gasly and might even help them overtake Ferrari in the WCC.

They would definitely have more opportunities with 2 drivers somewhat near each other on track. Gasly being outside of the pit window means they're basically running 2 separate races that only intersect each other when Gasly had to let Max through to lap him.

And now that I think about it from a bit of a distance, I guess putting Albon in there makes sense to make an informed decision for 2020. They already have all of the data on Kvyat and now Gasly. Why not put Albon in there and see where the 3 stack up. Then they can make a more informed decision on their 2020 lineups. Theoretically/hopefully, he won't be worse than Gasly and might even help them overtake Ferrari in the WCC.

Pretty much what I was thinking. Kvyat has had that seat and didn't get to keep it. Gasly didn't make the most of it. Time to test the unknown variable in the senior car and gather the data.

When RB realizes that they are all half as good as Max then perhaps that triggers the Vettel return to RBR and a Bottas move to Ferrari so Ocon can slot in at Merc.

Pretty much what I was thinking. Kvyat has had that seat and didn't get to keep it. Gasly didn't make the most of it. Time to test the unknown variable in the senior car and gather the data.

When RB realizes that they are all half as good as Max then perhaps that triggers the Vettel return to RBR and a Bottas move to Ferrari so Ocon can slot in at Merc.

haha Bottas to Ferrari? very very doubtful. Ferrari is going after Lewis.

But yeah the RB scenario right now is... who can they get there to be juuuuuust slightly worse than Max, but not so bad that they are totally off. Sort of what they did to M Webber and tried to pull on Ricciardo....

That 2nd Red Bull seat is a dead end. Whoever is there, will not beat Max; and 'impressing' will mean getting close enough to cause some trouble but any such trouble can be quickly dispelled by strategies, by how RB arranges the contracts (ie. year by year terms) or simply by the car's design and support. So whoever is there will be as good as Red Bull wants them to look.

Per this, Gasly wasn't pulling in 65-75% of Max's points, which I guess is the benchmark for #2 driver, he was closer to 35% IIRC, which makes sense for why he was canned. Also, they know what "The Rocket" can do in the Red Bull, so it give them data on Albon for next year.